“I suspect the legends are more in the lower tiers,” Legends of Motorsport guitarist Cameron Stops muses. “It’s become a lot more of a professional pursuit these days, with all the big dollars on it. The characters are all out there in the country meets waiting to be discovered. If you go out to some club track you’ll come across some young guy in a homemade car doing something deserving of wonder.”
Motor racing aside, it’s been a quiet 18 months for Legends of Motorsport. A spate of shows early last year, including a show at the Northcote Social Club with help from the Dynamo horn section, was followed by a long period of absence, as lead singer and organ player Richard Fyshwick headed back overseas on an extended break.
Fyshwick did manage to keep up appearances with Legends of Motorsport, finding time to ring in to the studio in Melbourne to add his two cents’ worth to the mixing process for the soon-to-be-released new Legends of Motorsport record.
“Back here we’d done recording sessions before he went, so we had a few mixing sessions for the album with Richard calling in via Skype, which was entertaining,” Stops says.
Fyshwick also found time to record some video footage that ended up in the film clip to Legends of Motorsport’s new single, The Grrr. “That footage was some of the work Richard did while he was away. I think the salt plain scenes are in Bolivia, and the desert scenes are in Morocco, or around north Africa,” Stops says. As for what exactly ‘the grrr’ is, Stops is coy – if indeed he does know what it is at all. “Well, that’s really the question that song is asking,” Stops laughs. “And it’s a good question – I think it’s one of those songs when the grrr can be anything you want it to be.”
Stops says the new album is essentially finished, with the release date dependent only on finding a suitable label. The record will hopefully come out on vinyl, the first Legends of Motorsport record to appear on black wax. And assuming all goes according to plan, the album cover will feature artwork donated by legendary Australian artist Albert Tucker.
“2 Stroke, our other guitarist, often finds himself with a bit of spare time on his hands,” Stops says. “He was a fan of the picture, and got in touch with Albert Tucker’s widow, who was happy for us to use it. So we’re putting together the artwork at the moment. Assuming we get the final tick from the family, then we’ll be lucky enough to have a nice bit of Australian art for our cover.”
While Stops says Legends of Motorsport haven’t mellowed at all, he does note that the new record does include a hitherto unfound acoustic track. “I think the new album will have the first ever Legends album with a prominent acoustic guitar track,” Stops laughs. “Maybe that’s mellowing out – but you won’t hear it in our live set, so I don’t know if it counts. With the new album, I think we’ve evolved a bit, but I don’t think we’ve evolved into anything significantly different from what we’ve been doing for the last 15 years. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know – I guess the punters can make their own decision.”
In late November, Legends of Motorsport will appear on the bill for the CherryFest at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar. Not surprisingly, Legends of Motorsport are a big fan of Cherry. “It’s got that long standing thing of being a bit of a hang-out for people who’re passionate about their music, whether it’s playing or listening music, or drinking near it,” Stops says. “It’s the type of place you can feel pretty at home when you’re there, and staff are going to be looking out for you. It’s always just a fun place to be, without having to worry about people not understanding your behaviour – put it that way!” Stops notes that there is a “mutually beneficial relationship” between the bar and its attendant live music acts. “They have what bands need, being an audience and lots of alcohol. And bands might help them get a few punters in there as well,” Stops says.
But before Legends of Motorsport makes its way to the Cherry, the band will play at the Tote on Melbourne Cup Day as part of the Cup My Balls celebration. I ask Stops if the band has ever considered playing as Legends of Horse Racing for the day. “I think the occasion might be a bit above our station to go down that road – I don’t know if we’re classy enough to find ourselves on the straight on Cup Day,” Stops laughs. “I think we can probably consume enough alcohol to have that much in common. Maybe we could get a nice Bart Cummings poster! But the spirit of the day at the Tote is more an alternative to the big horse race than a tribute to it. Maybe we could get hold of some jockeys’ silks that are way too small and trot out in them. Or maybe a top hat and t-shirt, or tuxedo and thongs.”
BY PATRICK EMERY
